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Position:Home>Philosophy> How accessible is Plato's The Republic for someone unfamiliar with philosophQuestion: How accessible is Plato's The Republic for someone unfamiliar with philosophy!? I find philosophy very interesting and I'd like to start with The Republic but I've often found that older texts like this are difficult to read due to the way its written!. Could a beginner in philosophy read and understand the books main points!? Or perhaps there are books that accompany it!?Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I actually think the older books like the Republic are much more readable than many modern or contemporary texts!. They were written long before Kant and the start of intense academic writing in philosophy!. It would, of course, be best to read it in conjunction with a class, but it is understandable on your own!. You may also consider consulting some brief summaries about it while you read to make sure you are interpreting it properly!. I'm sure wikipedia has a decent page on it, and there are many online philosophical encyclopedias!. I am not aware of any books written specifically to make the Republic clear!. The best way to find out is to try!. Start reading it, and if you find yourself lost, then look around for help!. Philosophy is not an easy subject though, and even the easier books take much more effort, discipline, and concentration than most people are used to, so don't give up if the going gets rough! :)Www@QuestionHome@Com philosophy is a hard subject to read and retain but the republic by plato is an amazing read!.!.!.start maybe with philosophy for beginners to enable you to become familiar with what philosophy is all about and then move on to plato also socrates another famous western philosopher is fantastic!.!.!. once you start you will become obsessed with it and it becomes a part of everyday life!.Www@QuestionHome@Com Plato was a dreamer!. Philosopher Kings, HA! Were it not for his mentor Socrates who never wrote anything, we would never have heard of Plato!. Suggest you begin with Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse http://en!.wikipedia!.org/wiki/Siddhartha_!.!.!. also suggest http://en!.wikipedia!.org/wiki/Steppenwolf!.!.!. If you really want to twist your brain, buy some grass and do http://en!.wikipedia!.org/wiki/Carlos_Cast!.!.!. This will keep you busy for 10 years!. Enjoy your journey! Www@QuestionHome@Com I think you could go at it as is, although I'd recommend a bit of additional reading - if you can find important excerpts from Aristotle's "Politics" and the Dialogues of Socrates, it would probably help put you in context!.Www@QuestionHome@Com |